


Can I?

by Reading_Nut_Cassirole



Series: Can I? Trilogy [1]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Betrayal, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-07 19:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15914964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reading_Nut_Cassirole/pseuds/Reading_Nut_Cassirole
Summary: Bruce feels guilty. In the four years since he took Dick in, Dick has been kidnapped, held hostage, hurt, and threatened all because they want money. Now Bruce has finally decided to do something about it, but can he go through with it?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.
> 
> First in the Can I? Trilogy.

Bruce and Dick walked through the clock entrance to the Batcave into the study. Bruce watched as Dick slowly walked out of the room. “That jerk will pay for this.”

-Flashback-

_Dick Grayson, not Robin, sat in a warehouse gagged and tied to a chair. He had a bruise on right cheek and a small cut below his eye. He was conscious and his captor paced back and forth in front of him, driving Dick a little crazy._

_“Your old man has five minutes before I blow your head off kid,” the guy said_

_Dick glared at the guy. If his mouth was free, he’d be giving this guy a piece of his mind._

_The guy smiled. “What’s wrong, kid, mad ‘cause you can’t talk back?” The guy then laughed and smacked Dick hard across his already bruised cheek, sending pain shooting through his face._

_Up in the rafters, a dark figure watched everything that went on. He narrowed his eyes and became even angrier than he already was as he watched and listened to what the guy was saying and doing._

_“You’re a stupid,” smack, “and pathetic,” smack, “kid,” smack, “and I can see why,” punch, “your old man,” punch, and the chair tipped over causing Dick to lay on his side, “wouldn’t want,” kick, “to give his money,” kick, “up,” kick, kick, “to save you.” Kick._

_Dick had his eyes closed tight and the dark figure couldn’t take it anymore. While the guy had his back toward him, Batman jumped down, caught the guy off guard, and kicked him across the room._

_The guy got up, pulled his gun out of his pocket, and started shooting at Batman. Batman dodged the bullets, moved away from Dick so he didn’t get hit, and ran toward the guy._

_They guy continued to shoot, but Batman got to him and punched him a lot harder than he should have. He heard a crack and knew that he had broken the guy’s nose, but didn’t care; he just kept punching._

_Finally the guy went down unconscious. Batman then turned toward Dick, who was still lying on his side tied to the chair, and ran over to him. he used a bat-a-rang to cut the ropes then pulled the tape off his mouth. “Are you ok?”_

_“Yeah, thanks,” Dick said smiling up at him._

_Batman frowned even more as he finally got a good look at Dick’s face. “Come on, we’ll get you home so Alfred can check you over.”_

_Dick nodded and tried to get up. He was weak from the hour of being tied to the chair. “You know,” Dick said as he slowly walked to the door, “I actually started to think you weren’t coming this time.”_

_This stopped Batman in his tracks and he just stood there for a minute watching in shock as Dick walked out the door._

_Once Dick got completely out the door, Batman turned back toward the guy and anger returned as he stalked toward him. The guy was still unconscious and Batman wished he was awake so he could feel what it’s like to be on the receiving end, but just cuffed him and went back to the Batmovile._

-End of Flashback-

“If he ever touches Dick again…” Bruce started, but didn’t get the chance to finish his statement as Alfred came out of the clock.

“Master Bruce, I’m glad I caught you.”

“Is everything alright?” Bruce asked concerned.

“Yes, Sir, but I would suggest Master Dick stay home for a few nights. He has a couple broken ribs from where that man kicked him, and I wouldn’t want to see him get hurt because of it.”

“I see. Ok, I’ll tell him,” Bruce replied then left the room.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Dick walked into the dining room the next morning and saw Bruce drinking a cup of coffee while reading the paper. “Morning, Bruce,” he said as he sat down next to Bruce.

Bruce closed the paper and sat it on the table. “Morning, Dick. How’re you feeling this morning?”

“Fine, but my chest still hurts a little.”

“Understandable. Alfred told me last night that you had a couple of broken ribs.”

Alfred walked in with two plates of pancakes and sat them down in front of Dick and Bruce. Dick smiled up at him. “Thanks, Al.”

“You’re quite welcome, Sir.” Alfred then walked back to the kitchen.

Both Bruce and Dick just ate in silence until they were both about done. “Dick,” Bruce said figuring now was as good a time as any. “Alfred thinks you shouldn’t go on patrols for a while until your ribs are a bit better.”

Dick didn’t look up at him, but nodded to show he heard.

“Dick?” Bruce asked a little concerned.

Dick finally looked up at him, a smile on his face. “I’m fine, Bruce, really, and I was kind of expecting you to say something like that.”

“Ok,” Bruce looked a bit skeptical but said nothing more and finished cleaning his plate.

After he cleaned it, he stood up as Alfred came back into the room, walked past Dick, messing up his hair causing the boy to complain happily in protest, and walked toward the door. “See you this afternoon, Dick.”

“Ok, bye, Bruce.”

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Later that afternoon, Dick was sitting on the couch doing his math homework while he was waiting for Bruce to get home. He loved doing math, but he was a little distracted today and he found himself taking longer than he normally did. Finally, he just decided to push his homework ‘til later. “Hey, Al, is Bruce mad at me?”

Alfred was dusting when Dick asked him this. He turned and looked at him shocked. “Why on earth would you believe he’s mad at you?”

Dick shrugged and looked away from him. “I don’t know. It’s just he was mad after he got out of the warehouse and every time he looked at me after that he always seemed to get madder.”

Alfred placed the duster on a table nearby and walked over and sat down next to Dick on the couch. “He wasn’t mad at you, he was mad at the guy that hurt you, and at himself for letting you get hurt.” Dick looked up to him. “You know how protective Master Bruce gets when it comes to you.”

Dick smiled. “Yeah, Wally calls him DaddyBats.”

Alfred gave a soft chuckle. “Yes, I believe I have heard Master Wallace say that too.”

The next thing Alfred knew, Dick was clinging to him. Alfred just smiled and wrapped his arms around the boy.

Little did either of them know was that someone had snuck into the house and was watching them. The intruder smiled then stepped out of hiding.  “Awww, is the little rich brat having daddy issues?” Dick and Alfred both jumped at the sound of the man’s voice. “Why don’t I solve your little problem for you. Hand over the kid, grandpa.”

Both Alfred and Dick stood up and Alfred pushed Dick behind him protectively. “I will not.”

The man glared at Alfred and pulled a gun out of his jacket. “Well then, I guess I’m just gonna have to make you.”

With that a shot went off and Dick just screamed, “NO!”


	2. Chapter 2

Bruce just pulled into the drive and was about to open the door to the house when he heard a gun go off and Dick yell 'no.'

He threw the door open and ran inside. "Dick?" he yelled scared.

When he walked into the living room, he saw a guy turn around with Dick in his arms. Bruce just froze.

"That's far enough, Mr. Wayne," the man warned. He had the gun pointed right at Dick's head.

Bruce held up his hands in a non-threatening way. "What do you want?" His eyes never left the scared face of Dick.

"All I want from you, Wayne, is money, and lots of it."

"Ok, it's yours, as much as you want, just don't hurt him."

"Now don't you try and be brave, or you'll end up like grandpa here."

Bruce finally looked down at Alfred and his eyes went wide when he saw him lying on the ground trying to catch his breath and stop the bleeding from the wound in his stomach. He then looked back at Dick and realized that he had tears going down his cheeks. "No heroic moves, I promise."

"You better not, or you're gonna lose sonny-boy here. Now take me to the stash."

"I don't keep a lot of money here at the house. The most I have is around two thousand. The rest is in the banks."

The man narrowed his eyes and pushed the gun to Dick's head harder, making Dick close his eyes in fear. "Well, then I guess you had better get your checkbook out."

Bruce nodded then slowly moved one hand to his pocket while keeping the other up. "How much?"

The man walked over and motioned for Bruce to sit down. "One hundred million. That should last me for a while, and remember, no funny business." He then gestured toward Alfred with his head. "I don't think grandpa will last very much longer."

Bruce looked to Alfred and saw that he was no longer moving then looked down at his checkbook. "One hundred million, got it." He wrote out the check, signed it, tore it out, and then held it out to the man. "Here, now let him go."

The man grabbed the check with the hand that had the gun in it, looked at it, and then looked back at Bruce. "And you'll guarantee this is good?"

"I promise."

The guy nodded, put the check in his pocket, and then backed up toward the door with Dick still in his arms, the gun going back up to Dick's head. "Good, then I'll just be on my way, and to make sure that I get out, I'm just gonna hold on to him 'til we reach the door."

Bruce followed them to the door, worry still very evident in his face, and when the man opened the door, he threw Dick, causing him to yelp, and ran out the door.

Bruce went straight to Dick's side and they both watched as the man ran. Bruce then looked at Dick. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, but we need to help Alfred," Dick said as Bruce helped him up.

"I know. Go call an ambulance. I'll go and see if I can do anything to help until they get here."

Dick nodded then ran off to call for the ambulance as Bruce ran to Alfred.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Bruce sat in the waiting room at Gotham General Hospital. It had been over an hour since the ambulance came and took Alfred to the hospital, and he was starting to get worried that Alfred wouldn't make it. Alfred was in very bad shape when the EMTs arrived, in fact, Bruce was doing CPR on him when Dick led them into the room. Alfred had stopped breathing, and when the EMTs took over, it took them a good tow minutes before they finally had to use a portable ventilator to make him breath.

Dick stood there just watching at the EMTs stuck the tube down Alfred's throat. Bruce stood next to him, and when he saw the look on Dick's face, he knelt down and pulled dick into a hug and Dick just buried his face in Bruce's shoulder.

After the EMTs took Alfred away, Bruce had sent Dick to Mount Justice. Dick wasn't happy with that decision at all, but all Bruce would say was, "It's for your own safety." Bruce could feel the glare Dick gave him as he went through the zeta tube.

Bruce got up from his chair and started pacing. After a couple laps across the room, a doctor walked into the room. "Mr. Wayne?"

Bruce quickly walked over to him. "I'm Bruce Wayne."

The doctor nodded. "I'm Dr. Myers," he said as he shook Bruce's hand, "Mr. Pennyworth is out of surgery now. The bullet skimmed the lining of his stomach and he lost a good amount of blood. It was touch and go for a while there, but we finally got him stabilized and his wound stitched up. He's in recovery now, so you can see him in about fifteen minutes after we move him to a room."

Bruce closed his eyes and sighed. "Thank you."

The doctor nodded then left the room.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

"Recognize, Robin, B01."

Robin came through the zeta tube mad. "It's not fair. It's my fault he got shot. I should be there with him."

"You got who shot?" Wally asked as he ran right in front of Robin.

Robin didn't even think twice when he decked Wally and sent him flying backwards shocked and yelling.

Robin's eyes went wide when he realized what he just did. "Oh man. I'm so sorry, KF."

By the time he got over to him, M'gann, Conner, Kaldur, and Artemis came running into the room, weapons and fists up. When they saw Robin helping Wally get up off the floor, they ran up to them and started asking questions all at once.

"Who did this?'

"Are you alright?"

"Who do I get to beat up?"

"Are they still around?"

"Guys!" Robin yelled over their questions. They all just looked at him. "This was my fault."

Wally, who was now standing rubbing his chin where Robin punched him, looked at him worried. "Rob, what's going on?"

Robin looked at him then walked away from them all sadly. The others just looked at him then followed after him. They found him sitting on the couch fiddling with something.

Kaldur slowly walked over to him, the others staying put, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you ok, my friend?"

Robin sighed. "Yeah, I will be… I hope." Kaldur and the others just stayed quiet and hoped that he would explain. It paid off. "Agent A was shot today 'cause he was trying to protect me," he said finally looking up at them.

M'gann gasped and covered her mouth, and Wally just ran over and sat down next to him. "Is he alright?" Wally asked concerned.

Robin looked away again, but this time angrier. "I don't know. Batman wouldn't let me go with him to the hospital." The room was quiet again. Robin then became sad again, almost crying as he continued. "He'd stopped breathing at some point and the EMTs had to put a tube in his throat to make him breath."

Wally saw a tear roll out from under Robin's glasses, and did the only think he could think of, pull Robin into a hug. Robin didn't protest or push away, but clung to him tighter and he couldn't hold back the tears any longer.

The others just came up and stood around the two, M'gann sitting down beside them rubbing Robin's back as they listened to him cry. No one knew what to say, so they all stayed quiet.

After about five minutes, Robin slowly sat up and wiped away the tears. "Sorry, guys."

Kaldur again placed his hand on Robin's shoulder. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"Yeah," Artemis agreed, "you're close to him."

"Yeah, you've told me he's like a grandfather to you," Wally agreed.

"Yeah, he is," Robin replied. They sat there for a few more seconds before the computer announced Black Canary's arrival.

She walked in to see everyone crowded around the couch and Robin with red eyes. "What's going on?" she asked as she walked closer to them. "Is everything ok? Is Batman…"

"Batman's fine. It's Agent A. He was shot today and he's at the hospital now."

Canary's eyes went wide. "Oh, Robin…"

Robin gave her a small smile. "It's alright. So, are you here to do training?"

She looked at him sadly. "Well, yes, but if you don't…"

"No, it's fine. I could use something to get it off my mind."

She was still a little reluctant, but she just nodded and walked to the training area.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Bruce sat in a chair next to Alfred's bed. They finally got Alfred into a private room, and Alfred was resting at the moment. His mind went over what happened that day and the past week and about how over the past four years since he took Dick in. Dick's been kidnapped, held hostage, or threatened all because people wanted money from him.

He felt horrible.  _'This is no life for a kid his age. He shouldn't have to be worried about if someone's gonna take him off the street. All he should be worrying about is when he is going to hang out with his friends and school stuff.'_

As he thought about this, Alfred was slowly starting to wake up. He let out a soft moan which caused Bruce to jump a little.

"Alfred?"

Alfred looked up at him and smiled. "Hello, Master Bruce." He then looked around and got a look of worry on his face.

Bruce saw this, stood up, and got closer to the bed. "What's wrong?"

Alfred was still looking around the room. "Where is Master Dick?" he asked finally looking at Bruce.

Bruce sat back down and smiled. "He's fine. I sent him to the mountain."

Alfred relaxed. "Good. You know he's not going to be happy with you for that, right?"

Bruce frowned at that. "I don't think that's the only thing he's not gonna be happy at me about."

Alfred looked at him confused. "What do you mean, Sir?"

Bruce sighed. "I've been thinking about this since last night. I feel bad about Dick always being kidnapped, held hostage, getting hurt, or threatened all because people out there want money from me."

Alfred's eyes widened in fear. "You're not thinking what I think you are are you?"

"Yes," he said as he stood up and walked over to the window to look out, "I'm thinking about taking him back to the orphanage."


	3. Chapter 3

Alfred stared at the back of Bruce's head. "Sir, you can't!"

Bruce turned to look at the man surprised. Alfred never raised his voice, ever, not even when he got mad. "Alfred, it's for the best."

"How so?" Alfred asked mad, giving Bruce his own version of the batglare.

"If he wasn't living with me, he wouldn't have to worry about being kidnapped or if he was gonna die by the hands of a mad man wanting money. He would also have parents that could be with him all the time and spend time with him. He could have brothers or sisters. Live a life of not worrying about anything but when he's going to hang out with friends and stuff for school." Bruce looked down and his voice got quieter. "A life I can't give him."

Alfred just glared at him. "You know perfectly well that if you did that, everyone would be very angry at you and you would never forgive yourself for betraying him like that."

Bruce looked up at him with wide eyes. "I'm not betraying him. I…"

"You most certainly are!" Alfred interrupted, voice rising again. "You told him that you would always be there for him, and when he was younger and he was afraid you were going to send him back to the orphanage because he did something wrong, you told him that that would never happen!"

"But I wouldn't do it because he did something wrong, I'd do it to give him a better life."

"A better life?" Alfred was so mad, he had to use every ounce of discipline not to get up and smack some sense into Bruce. "You think taking him away from the only people that he's ever known that love him after his parents died is a better life!"

Bruce was actually getting scared. He held up his hands in front of him and backed away. "Now calm down, Alfred."

"I will not calm down!" Alfred's heart monitor was going crazy.

A nurse ran into the room. "Mr. Pennyworth, please, calm down."

Alfred turned to the young lady. "Miss, will you please escort Master Bruce out?"

"Of course," she said nodding then turned toward Bruce. "Sir?"

Bruce just stared at Alfred still shocked then felt the young lady tug on his arm.  _'He's kicking me out?'_  He just allowed the lady to drag him out of the room.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

After their hard work out, the team was just standing around talking, the girls on one side of the room and the boys on the other, that is, until the computer announced the arrival of Batman.

Everybody looked over to the Dark Knight, and Robin ran straight over there. "Is he…" He tried to ask, but couldn't get the rest of the sentence out.

"No, he's alive," Robin sighed, "but he won't be home for another few day."

"At least he will be." Batman just put a hand on Robin's shoulder.

The others soon gathered around the two. "How is Agent A?" Kaldur asked.

"He'll be fine. Robin," Batman replied then looked down at Robin, "we have work to do in Gotham."

Robin just nodded then turned to his friends as Batman walked to the zeta tubes. "See ya, guys." He then ran after Batman, the computer recognizing both of them as they left.

Once they got through the tube, Bruce pulled down his cowl and turned to Dick. "Dick…" He flinched when he saw Dick, with no glasses on, standing there with his arms crossed and a glare on his face. "Dick…"

"Why couldn't I go with you?" Dick asked mad.

Bruce sighed. "I knew it would be a long wait a…"

"So! Who cares if it was a long wait!" Dick yelled, his arms now down at his side with his fists clenched. "He got shot trying to protect me!" A tear rolled down his cheek. "It would've been my fault if he died," he said sadder.

"No, it wouldn't have been!" Bruce said louder than he intended. Dick just looked away and crossed his arms again. Bruce sighed, knelt down, and placed both his hands on Dick's shoulders. "Dick, I'm sorry. I was scared." Dick looked at him, still mad, but also a little confused. "Alfred was dying and you could've gotten shot and killed if I had made the wrong move."

"So you send me off so I can't be near either one of you?" Dick continued smacking away Bruce's arms.

Bruce sighed again. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

Dick slowly went from anger to sad. He then barreled in to Bruce's chest, surprising Bruce and causing him to fall on his butt. Dick didn't hold back his tears any longer, and Bruce just wrapped his arms around him, closing his eyes and leaning his own head on Dick's. "I thought I was going to lose someone else I loved," Dick said, words muffled because his face was buried against Bruce's chest.

Bruce opened his eyes, but didn't move.  _'How could I be so stupid? How can I send him back? Maybe Alfred is right.'_  He was seriously going to have to think about sending him back to the orphanage some more thought.

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Bruce sat in the chair just watching as Dick worked on his homework. He couldn't stop arguing with himself over whether or not he should send Dick back or not. He finally sighed, got up, and walked toward the study.

Dick looked up from his homework when he heard Bruce sigh, and just watched as he walked to the study and shut the door.

Bruce sat down at his desk, sat there for a few seconds starring at a picture of him and Dick, and then pulled out a piece of paper.

He split the paper down the middle then labeled one side  _Reasons to:_  and the other side  _Reasons not to:._  He started with the reasons to.

Better home environment.  
Parents that can spend more time with him.  
Don’t have to worry about being kidnapped,  
     hurt, held hostage, or threatened for  
     money.  
Could focus more on school and friends.  
Could live a life without constantly being  
     watched.  
Would have a mom and a dad.  
Could have brothers and sister to play with.  
Wouldn’t be alone in a giant house for long  
     periods of time.  
Wouldn’t have to worry about never seeing  
     his dad if he went out at night.  
Would have a normal childhood.  
Wouldn’t have to worry about getting hurt  
     by criminals while out.

After looking over the list once, he then moved on to the reasons not to.

Would miss him too much.  
Everyone would be mad.  
He's happy here.

At that, Bruce stopped. He looked away. There were so many reasons to send him away and he was having a hard time thinking up reasons not to send him.

Just as he was about to read over the list again, he heard a knock on the door. "Bruce?"

Bruce hid the piece of paper so Dick wouldn't see it. "Just a sec." he then stood up, walked over to the door, and opened it to find a concerned Dick outside.

"Are you ok?" Dick asked concerned.

Bruce smiled down at him. "Of course. Did you need help?"

Dick looked a little skeptical, but answered anyway. "Yeah, I'm having trouble with some of my history questions."

Bruce nodded and stepped forward causing Dick to take a couple steps back. "Alright, let's see what we can find." He then glanced back at his desk before closing the door and following Dick back to the couch.


	4. Chapter 4

Bruce and Dick walked into Alfred's hospital room. "Alfred!" Dick yelled and ran to the bed and pretty much jumped on the man for a hug.

Alfred's eyes went wide with surprise. "Master Dick?" He then smiled when Dick looked up to him. "It is good to see you."

"I've missed you, Alfred."

"But it's only been a day," Alfred replied chuckling a bit.

Dick had a wide smile on his face. "I know, but I still missed you."

"I missed you too." He then looked up to Bruce. "I'm just surprised to see you."

Dick didn't catch the look Alfred was giving Bruce. "Yeah, well, since Bruce wouldn't let me come with him the other day, I talked him in to taking me today."

Bruce didn't look at Alfred after that comment. He knew what Alfred was asking, but he didn't want to voice it yet, so he just let Dick's answer be enough.

"I see," Alfred replied looking back at Dick. "Well, I'm glad you're here, and you weren't hurt that bad."

They spent a good hour just taking, Bruce mostly stayed quiet, but he said a few things here and there.

Alfred looked over at Bruce and saw that he was distracted.  _'Probably still thinking about sending Master Dick away.'_  He then turned to Dick. "Master Dick, would you mind finding a nurse for me? I seem to have run out of water."

Bruce looked up to Alfred.  _'Great, here it comes again.'_  "Sure, Al, be right back." Dick then jumped off the bed and walked to the door.

"Thank you," Alfred said with a smile as he watched the boy leave. Once Dick was out the door, Alfred lost the smile and turned toward Bruce. "You're not still considering sending him back are you?"

Again Bruce couldn't look up at the man. He sat there silently for a few more seconds. "I've been thinking about it, yes, but I still haven't made up my mind."

Bruce heard what sounded like a growl from the man which caused him to look up only to find a glare greeting him. "How can you still be considering it after what we've talked about in here this past hour?" he asked voice rising a little.

"Alfred, I've weighed the options."

"Options?" he asked still mad.

"Yes. I thought of plenty of reasons to do this, but when it came to the reasons not to, I couldn't think of very many."

"You don't need very many, Sir. Isn't the fact that none of our lives would be the same without him enough? You've told me many times, and I've seen it, that if Dick never came into your life, you probably would've become the one thing that you try to protect this city from."

Bruce looked away. "I know, but his happiness is more important than mine."

Alfred just stared at him shocked. "His happiness? You really think he'd be happy if you send him away from a home that he feels safe in, friends that love him, and a father that he always expects to be there for him no matter what?"

Bruce looked up at him again, only this time it was his turn to be shocked, but before he could say another word, Dick came back into the room with a nurse right behind him. "We got your water, Alfred."

Alfred smiled again. "Thank you, Master Dick."

"Next time you need anything, Mr. Pennyworth, please use the call button," the nurse said as she handed him the glass.

"Yes, of course, Miss," Alfred said then took a few drinks of the water before he sat it back down on the side table.

The nurse walked out then Bruce stood up. "Come on, Dick, I think we should be going."

"Awww, but can't we stay for a few more minutes?" Dick pleaded, folding his hands under his chin.

"No, Alfred needs his rest," Bruce replied then walked to the door, stopped, turned to look back at Dick, and waited.

Dick turned back to Alfred sadly. "Bye, Alfred." He then gave the man a hug goodbye.

"Don't worry, Master Dick, I will see you again," he said more to Bruce than Dick, giving Bruce a slight glare as he said it.

Dick pulled away, smiled, and then got off the bed and walked over to Bruce. Before he went out the door, Dick turned back around and waved at Alfred. Alfred smiled and waved back then watched as the two left, closing the door behind them.

Alfred sighed, leaned back into his pillow, and closed his eyes. "He better be there when I get home."

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Three more days passed before the hospital finally let Alfred come home, and Dick and Wally were running around the house getting ready. Dick had called Wally over to help him decorate. They made a big banner that said, "Welcome Home Alfred," and had balloons all over the place.

They were almost finished hanging the banner when they heard a car door shut. "Hurry, he's home!" Dick shouted.

They quickly finished taping the banner then Wally ran the two ladders into the study for now.

Alfred walked in, with the help of Bruce, and his eyes went wide when he saw the living room. "My word."

"Surprise!" Dick and Wally yelled as they jumped out from there hiding spots. "Welcome home, Alfred," Dick said as he came up and gave Alfred a hug.

Alfred smiled, returned the hug, and then scanned the room. He saw the big banner first, then all the balloons, and finally his eyes landed on the coffee table with all the food. There were cups with red liquid in them, Kool-Aid he guessed, ham and cheese sandwiches, Oreos, and the soft Chips Ahoy! cookies.  _'Well, it's the thought that counts,'_  he thought chuckling to himself knowing that neither Bruce nor Dick knew how to cook that well, although Dick had helped him on more than one occasion in making cookies. He finally looked back down to Dick who was smiling from ear to ear.

Dick looked to Bruce, who in turn just smiled and nodded, which made Dick smile wider, but he lost that smile when he saw a tear fall from Alfred's eye. "What's wrong, Alfred? Don't you like it?"

Alfred knelt down in front of Dick. Bruce took a step closer, worried that he fell, but stopped and smiled again when Alfred pulled Dick into a hug. "I love it. Thank you, Master Dick."

Dick's smile returned instantly as he wrapped his arms around Alfred. "I'm glad you like it."

Alfred just hugged him tighter and cried, but not because he was happy. No, Alfred was crying because he knew that Bruce would follow through with his plans. Bruce was the stubborn Batman after all. He didn't know when it would happen, but he knew it would be soon, and he was going to miss all this.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been another week and Alfred was now back on his feet. Bruce had let Dick stay, and Bruce had been quiet about the subject. Normally that would be a good thing, but Alfred could see on Bruce's face, every once and a while, that he was still thinking about it, and Alfred was pretty sure that the situation right now wasn't helping.

Alfred got a call from Commissioner Gordon at about four that afternoon, telling him that Dick and Barbra were jumped on the way to Gordon's house. Barbra managed to get away thanks to Dick, but he wasn't so lucky.

At the time, Bruce was in a very important business meeting and wasn't taking any calls. It was another hour before Bruce finally heard about the kidnapping. Now he was pacing back and forth in front of the phone.

"Sir, please calm down. Pacing like that is not going to make them call any faster."

Bruce stared at the phone then went over and sat down next to Alfred on the couch. "Sorry," he said as he leaned back on the couch. "It's just, we wouldn't even have to be waiting if they hadn't found a way to deactivate the tracking devices."

Alfred placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder. "He's going to be fine."

"But you don't know that," Bruce said as he stood back up and began pacing again. "This is just one reason why I have to take him back."

Alfred flinched. He was right, Bruce was still thinking about taking Dick back to the orphanage, and this situation just made up his mind for him. "Master Bruce, please."

"No, Alfred, I've made up my mind." His face went from angry to sad. "I'll take him Monday morning."

Alfred looked horrified, but before he could say anything to try and change his mind, the phone went off.

To Alfred, it looked like Bruce dove for the phone. "Hello?"

 _"Mr. Wayne, we have your son,"_  a low voice said.

"What do you want?"

_"We want five hundred million dollars, all cash, in half an hour taken to the docks."_

"Where at at the docks?"

 _"Don't worry about finding us, Mr. Wayne, we'll find you, and if there's any funny business like the cops or Batman… Well, let's just say your son will be meeting some new friends."_  The man laughed before Bruce heard a click that told him the guy hung up.

Bruce just stood there after he put the phone down. "Sir?" Alfred asked worriedly.

Bruce didn't say a word just turned around and ran out the door.

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Bruce stood at the docks with the five hundred million dollars in one of his cheaper briefcases.  _'Dang it. How many times have I had to do this?'_  Bruce sighed. "Dick, you don't deserve this life," he whispered so quietly that he barely heard himself.

"Mr. Wayne?"

Bruce spun around and saw a tall, well-built man with dark hair coming toward him.  _'I swear, if he…'_  "Oh my…" He saw another man, slightly shorter and not as well-built, drag Dick from out of the shadows.

Dick had a long cut down the left side of his cheek and a huge bruise going from his left eye all the way down to this chin. He also looked groggy like he had been drugged, but Bruce just put it off as exhaustion from the beating he had.

"Do you have the money?"

Bruce threw the briefcase at the man's feet. "It's all there."

The man knelt down, opened the case, looked through it for a minute, then closed the case and stood up. He gave the briefcase to the second man and roughly grabbed Dick by the arm, causing Dick to stumble and almost fall. "As promised," he said then threw Dick at Bruce's feet. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you."

Bruce knelt down and just glared at the two laughing men retreating. "Dick, are you ok?" he finally asked as he helped Dick up.

Dick just barreled into Bruce's chest crying. "I'm sorry, Bruce. I'm so sorry."

"Shhhh," Bruce said rubbing Dick's back. "It's not your fault, Dickie. Shhhh."

They just sat there, Bruce holding and comforting Dick as Dick cried into his chest.

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Monday morning came and Bruce was up in Dick's room packing up his stuff. He didn't want to do this to Dick, but he knew it was for the best.

Once he got all of Dick's stuff together, he took it all down and put it in the trunk of the car then went down to the Batcave to call Dick home. Bruce had let Dick spend one last night with his friends.

"I really wish you would reconsider, Master Bruce," Alfred said as he came up behind him. "Or at least tell him that he's never going to see them again so that he can say goodbye to his friends properly."

Bruce sighed. "You know why I can't do that."

"Yes, because he would try to disappear so that he wouldn't have to leave a home that he loves being at," Alfred replied with a bit of a bite.

"Alfred, please, don't start this again. I'm only doing what's best for him."

"I beg to differ." Alfred then turned around and walked to the elevator to return to the house.

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"Dude, so why did Bats let you stay the night? He never lets you stay the night," Wally asked as a commercial interrupted the show the team was watching.

"I don't know, but he's been acting pretty strange since Friday night," Robin replied.

"How so?" Kaldur asked.

"Well, he's been a little distant and every time he looked at me, he'd get sad and either turn away from me, or walk out of the room."

"Sounds to me like he's regretting something," Conner said.

"Yeah, that was my guess too. I mean, he always does that the first day after I've been captured or hurt and all, but never three days in a row."

Kaldur placed a hand on Robin's shoulder. "Perhaps you are just over thinking things."

Robin smiled. "Yeah, you're probably… Yeah?" he asked putting his hand to his ear and looking down. "Alright, I'll be home in a minute." Before he put his hand back down, his face twisted in confusion.

"Dude, what's with the face?" Wally asked.

Robin looked up to Wally. "Batman wants me to get home, but he said to take as long as I need to say good bye."

Everyone looked at him and each other confused. "What do you think he meant by that?" Wally asked now a bit scared.

"I don't know," Robin replied a bit nervously, but then smiled, "but don't worry 'bout it. It's probably nothing. I'll see you guys tomorrow," he said as he started off for the zeta tubes. The rest of the team wasn't so sure about Robin's confidence.

"Recognize, Robin, B01."

The room was quiet until Wally spoke up. "Guys, why do I have the feeling that we're not going to see him tomorrow?" They all just stared toward the zeta tubes.

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Robin walked through the zeta tube and into the dark cave. He was still nervous and he just couldn't shake this feeling.

He took off his sunglasses and walked over to where Bruce was standing waiting for him. He stopped right in front of Bruce. "Bruce, is everything ok?"

"Yeah, come on," Bruce said emotionless as he walked into the elevator.

Dick was getting even more scared now.  _'I don't like this,'_  he thought as he followed Bruce.

They walked off the elevator, through the living room, and met Alfred at the door. Dick stopped when he saw Alfred standing there smiling while holding out his jacket.  _'Maybe I am just jumping to conclusions. Alfred wouldn't be smiling if I was going anywhere, would he?'_

Bruce was following behind Dick and gave him a little push when he saw that Dick stopped. "Come on, Dick, we're going to be late."

Dick looked up at Bruce then back to Alfred. Alfred then pulled him into a hug. "So long, Master Dick." He then stood up and walked away without looking back.

Dick just stared at Alfred then looked back at Bruce as they walked out the door and to the car. "Is Alfred ok?"

"Yeah, he just has stuff to do," Bruce said not even looking down at Dick.

They both got in the car, Bruce started it up, and they drove out of the drive way. Dick looked back at the mansion.

 ** _'You know he's taking you away right?'_** a voice in his head said.

 _'No, Bruce wouldn't do that to me. He couldn't.'_  Dick then turned around and watched out the window as the scenery went by.

The ride was quiet, not a single word spoken the entire way. The air in the car seemed to freeze completely when Bruce pulled into the one place that Dick hoped never to see again.

 ** _'What did I tell you?'_**  "Bruce, what are we doing at the orphanage?"


	6. Chapter 6

Bruce just stayed quiet and parked the car. "Bruce?" Dick was getting very scared now. He looked over and saw tears going down Bruce's face as Bruce got out of the car and walked toward the trunk.

Tears were now forming in Dick's eyes as he watched Bruce pull out two suitcases and a big bag.  _'He doesn't want me anymore. What did I do? Why doesn't he want me anymore?'_

Bruce walked into the building. Dick thought about getting out and running, but his whole world was crashing down around him. Bruce didn't want him anymore so where was he supposed to go? After a few more minutes he saw Bruce walk back out with two other people following him.

There was a woman with sandy, blonde hair and a thin body that looked like it had been in the sun to long, and a taller man with black hair and very black skin.

The three walked toward the car, stopped and shook hands when they reached the front of the car, and then the two workers walked toward Dick's door as Bruce walked to the driver's door.

The woman opened the door and knelt down in front of Dick. "You must be Richard," she said with a smile. "My name is Charlene and this," she then pointed to the man, "is Mark. You're going to come live with us for a while until we can find you a nice home, ok?"

Dick backed away from them, but not before Mark grabbed his wrist and started to pull him out of the car. "No! Bruce!" he yelled as he looked over to Bruce, trying to break free of the man's grip, tears now streaming down his face. "Bruce, please! I'm sorry, Bruce! Please, I'm sorry!" he yelled over and over as Mark and Charlene pulled him from the car and dragged him to the building. "Bruce, please! I don't want to go! Bruce! BRUCE!"

Tears were falling freely from Bruce's face as he watched them drag his son… no, not anymore… as they drug Dick away. He put the car in reverse and started pulling away.

"Bru…" Bruce looked in the rearview mirror and saw that they finally got Dick into the building.

"I'm so sorry, Dick," he said as the tears continued to fall down his face. He pulled back onto the road and headed back to the manor, leaving Dick, and his life, behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. If you did enjoy this and want to find out what happens next, you can read the second story in this trilogy, How Could I?


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